Tonight's picture was taken on July 4, 2006. We were invited by Mattie's good preschool buddy, Zachary, and his family to watch the National fireworks show from their boat. It was our first and last time on the Potomac River for Independence Day. Mattie had a wonderful time and Peter and I found it fascinating how many people are on the water for the holiday.
Quote of the day: Today's coronavirus update from Johns Hopkins.
- number of people who were diagnosed with the virus: 2,793,022
- number of people who died from the virus: 129,405
I got up this morning at 6am. I got myself showered, dressed, made the bed, and was about to start breakfast. When I got a call from the caregiving agency letting me know that my dad's caregiver needed an emergency root canal today. Thankfully I was here and could take over the care for the day. Naturally if I were not here, the agency would have sent another caregiver. Given that I trained three people in a week's time, they did not want me to have to repeat the process today! Which I appreciated! While training people this week, showering and dressing my dad took anywhere from an hour to 90 minutes. Whereas, when I go it, I can get it all done in 30 minutes!
Which was a good thing, because my dad had a wound care appointment today at around 9am. The physician's assistant and his assistant came to the house, but I wanted my dad washed, dressed, and with enough time to eat breakfast and take pills before they arrived. It was a successful morning and we got it all done.
This is a photo of the debrided wound. I asked the specialist how this developed and he said from being sedentary and malnourished. Thankfully my dad is eating again, but during the COVID-19 lock down, he lost his appetite and refused to eat anything other than cereal. If you have been following along, then you know my dad lost 30 pounds during Covid, refused to eat, and developed a urinary tract infection, a kidney stone, and an impacted colon. He was hospitalized twice, dealt with persistent hiccups for a week, and also had delirium. It has been a lot to manage and given how I found him on June 9th, he is more stable now. But with that said, my dad needs constant support and supervision and of course we are all saddened by his massive cognitive decline. A decline that I hold quarantine from Covid-19, a urinary tract infection, and being on Thorazine for a week to treat recurrent hiccups personally responsible for! In fact, if I did not intervene, my dad's doctor would have had him on Thorazine for longer. Instead, I researched persistent hiccups and suggested the doctor give my dad Baclofen! Which worked in one day's time! You have to be your own doctor. But I learned this the hard way from Mattie!
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